Foldable display device providing adaptive touch sensitive area and method for controlling the same

ABSTRACT

A foldable display device and method for controlling the foldable display device are discussed. The method includes detecting a state of a foldable display unit, the foldable display unit being in a folded state when the foldable display device is folded and being in an unfolded state when the foldable display device is unfolded, the foldable display unit being divided into a first area which is a border area, a second area which is a folding area and a third area located between the first area and the second area; and deactivating a touch sensor unit of the first area and activating touch sensor units of the second area and the third area, when the foldable display unit is gripped in the unfolded state.

This application is a Continuation of co-pending application Ser. No.13/918,224 filed Jun. 14, 2013, which claims the benefit of U.S.Provisional Application No. 61/803,758, filed on Mar. 20, 2013 andKorean Patent Application No. 10-2013-0056757, filed on May 20, 2013,the entire contents of all of the above applications are herebyincorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present specification relates to a foldable display device and, moreparticularly, to a foldable display device including touch sensitiveareas which differ according to the state thereof.

2. Discussion of the Related Art

As portable device have come into widespread use, handheld portabledevices have become popular. Portable devices have portability due tolightweight and small size. Bendable or foldable portable devices may beproduced in order to improve portability. In a portable device includinga display unit, the size of a bezel of the display unit may be reducedand a touch sensitive display unit may be provided on a front sidethereof in order to provide a wider user interface to a user. If a userholds a portable device by hand, unintended user touch input may occurin a border area of the display unit. In addition, in a foldable displaydevice among portable devices, a border area may be changed according toa folded state. Accordingly, there is a need for a technique ofadaptively changing a touch sensitive area of a foldable display deviceaccording to a folded state.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present specification is directed to a foldable displaydevice providing an adaptive touch sensitive area and a method forcontrolling the same that substantially obviate one or more problems dueto limitations and disadvantages of the related art.

An object of the present specification is to provide a foldable displaydevice for adaptively changing a touch sensitive area and a method forcontrolling the same. In particular, in the present specification, thereis a need for a method of determining which touch sensitive area of afoldable display device is activated according to a folded state.

Additional advantages, objects, and features of the specification willbe set forth in part in the description which follows and in part willbecome apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art uponexamination of the following or may be learned from practice of thespecification. The objectives and other advantages of the specificationmay be realized and attained by the structure particularly pointed outin the written description and claims hereof as well as the appendeddrawings.

To achieve these objects and other advantages and in accordance with thepurpose of the specification, as embodied and broadly described herein,a foldable display device includes a foldable display unit including afirst state which corresponds to a folded state and a second state whichcorresponds to an unfolded state, the foldable display unit beingdivided into a first area which is a border area, a second area which isa folding area and a third area located between the first area and thesecond area, touch sensor units configured to detect control input forthe display unit, and a controller configured to control the displayunit and the touch sensor units, wherein the controller detects thestate of the foldable display unit, deactivates the touch sensor unitsof the first area and the second area and activates the touch sensorunit of the third area, if the foldable display unit is in the firststate, and deactivates the touch sensor unit of the first area andactivates the touch sensor units of the second area and the third area,if the foldable display unit is in the second state.

In another aspect of the present specification, a method for controllinga foldable display device includes detecting a state of a foldabledisplay unit, the state of the foldable display unit including a firststate which corresponds to a folded state and a second state whichcorresponds to an unfolded state and the foldable display unit beingdivided into a first area which is a border area, a second area which isa folding area and a third area located between the first area and thesecond area, deactivating touch sensor units of the first area and thesecond area and activating a touch sensor unit of the third area if thefoldable display unit is in the first state, and deactivating the touchsensor unit of the first area and activating the touch sensor units ofthe second area and the third area if the foldable display unit is inthe second state.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description of the present specification areexemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide furtherexplanation of the invention as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the specification and are incorporated in andconstitute a part of this application, illustrate embodiment(s) of thespecification and together with the description serve to explain theprinciple of the specification. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a foldable display device according to anembodiment of the present specification;

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing areas of a foldable display device accordingto an embodiment of the present specification;

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing areas of a foldable display device accordingto another embodiment of the present specification;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a folded state of a foldable display deviceaccording to an embodiment of the present specification;

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a method of determining the state of afoldable display device according to a folding angle of the foldabledisplay device according to an embodiment of the present specification;

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a method of changing the position of contentand a control button in correspondence with rotation of a foldabledisplay device according to an embodiment of the present specification;

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing exceptions of a touch sensitive area of afoldable display device according to an embodiment of the presentspecification;

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a foldable display device according to anembodiment of the present specification; and

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling a foldabledisplay device according to an embodiment of the present specification.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, the preferred embodiments of the present specification willbe described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and,however, the range of the present specification is not limited to theembodiments.

Although the terms used in the present specification are selected fromgenerally known and used terms, terms used herein may be variabledepending on operator's intention or customs in the art, appearance of anew technology, or the like. In addition, some of the terms mentioned inthe description of the present specification have been selected by theapplicant at his or her discretion, the detailed meanings of which aredescribed in relevant parts of the description herein. Furthermore, itis required that the present specification is understood, not simply bythe actual terms used but by the meanings of each term lying within.

In the present specification, a foldable display device may include afoldable smartphone, a foldable smart pad, a foldable music player, afoldable tablet computer, a foldable laptop, or a flexible displaydevice.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a foldable display device according to anembodiment of the present specification. The foldable display device 11may include a foldable or bendable display unit 12 and a bezel 13. Thefoldable display unit 12 may be folded or bent in half with respect to afolding center axis 14 of the foldable display device as describedbelow. The foldable display device 11 of the present specification isnot limited to a device folded or bent with respect to a center axis.The foldable display device 11 may be asymmetrically folded. Inaddition, the foldable display device may include two or more foldingareas. For example, the foldable display device 11 having two foldingcenter axes may be folded to a size of ⅓ of the total size thereof bydividing a foldable display unit into three areas. Although a foldabledisplay device divided into two areas is described, the presentspecification is applicable to a foldable display device divided intothree or more areas. The state of the foldable display unit may be equalto that of the foldable display device.

The foldable display unit may not include the bezel 13 and a front areaof the foldable display device may be the display unit 12. The foldabledisplay unit may include a touch sensitive display unit.

The foldable display device 11 may be used in a state of being grippedby a user's hand. Accordingly, if the foldable display unit located onthe front side of the foldable display device is a touch sensitivedisplay, unintended user touch input may be performed through gripping.That is, when the user grips the foldable display device, the touchsensitive display may be touched. As the bezel of the foldable displaydevice becomes increasingly thin, a probability that unintended usertouch input occurs is increased. As a result, the foldable displaydevice 11 may malfunction due to such unintended user touch input.Accordingly, the foldable display device 11 may temporarily deactivatesome touch sensitive areas in order to prevent malfunction due tounintentional input through gripping, which will be described in detailwith reference to FIGS. 2 to 4.

The state of the foldable display device 11 may be variously changed byfolding characteristics. The foldable display device 11 may be set to afolded state or an unfolded state. In addition, the angle range of thefoldable display device 11 may be set according to state. For example,if an angle between both sides of the foldable display unit is within afirst angle range, the foldable display device 11 may recognize that thefoldable display unit is in a folded state. If an angle between bothsides of the foldable display unit is within a second angle range, thefoldable display device 11 may recognize that the foldable display unitis in an unfolded state. The angle included in the first angle range maybe less than the angle included in the second angle range. In anotherembodiment, the state of the foldable display device 11 may bedetermined based on an operation state of a hinge or using a distancebetween both sides of the display unit. The foldable display device 11may activate or deactivate the touch sensor of each area according tothe state thereof, which will be described in detail with reference toFIG. 5.

The foldable display device may include a foldable display unit on afront side thereof in an unfolded state and may include a foldabledisplay unit on front and back sides thereof in a folded state.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing areas of a foldable display device accordingto an embodiment of the present specification. According to embodiments,the foldable display device 11 may have a touch sensitive display unitat a front side thereof. The foldable display device 11 may not includea bezel.

In the foldable display device 11, a border area of a foldable displayunit may be set as a first area 21 and a folding area may be set as asecond area 22. An inner area other than the first area and the secondarea 22 may be set as a third area 23. The second area 22 may be setabout the center axis 12.

In FIG. 2, the foldable display device 11 is in an unfolded state. Inthe foldable display device 11, the touch sensor of the first area 21may be deactivated in the unfolded state. Deactivating the touch sensormay mean that touch input is ignored or the touch sensor is powered off.According to embodiments, the touch sensor of the first area 21 may bedeactivated at the hardware level. According to embodiments, a foldabledisplay device without a touch sensor of a first area 21 may bedesigned. In FIG. 2, the first area 21 of the foldable display device 11becomes a border area. Accordingly, the foldable display device 11 maydeactivate the touch sensor of the first area 21 belonging to the borderarea to minimize malfunction due to unintentional input throughgripping. If the touch sensor of the first area 21 is deactivated, thefoldable display device 11 may ignore or bypass touch input when touchinput is detected in the first area 21. In another embodiment, if thetouch sensor of the first area 21 is deactivated, the foldable displaydevice 11 may perform a function corresponding to a grip when the gripis detected in the first area 21. When the touch sensor detects a gripin a deactivated area, the foldable display device 11 may use thedetected grip as grip position information. The foldable display device11 may display a control menu at a grip position using the grip positioninformation. The foldable display device 11 may display a control menuat the grip position using the grip position information. In addition,the foldable display device 11 may display an indicator indicating thegrip position.

The foldable display device 11 may activate the touch sensors of thesecond area 22 which is the folding area and the third area 23 which isthe inner area to detect user touch input.

The foldable display device 11 shown at the lower side of FIG. 2 isdifferent from the foldable display device 11 shown at the upper side ofFIG. 2 in terms of the boundary between the first area 21 and the secondarea 22. The foldable display device 11 in the unfolded state shown atthe lower side of FIG. 2 may deactivate the touch sensor of the firstarea 21 and activate the touch sensors of the second area 22 and thethird area.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing areas of a foldable display device accordingto another embodiment of the present specification. According toembodiments, the foldable display device 11 may have a touch sensitivedisplay unit at a front side thereof. The foldable display device 11 maynot include a bezel.

The upper side of FIG. 3 shows areas if the foldable display mode 11 inan unfolded state is in a landscape mode. The foldable display device 11may recognize that the foldable display device 11 is gripped by the userin the landscape mode using a gravity sensor, a gyroscope sensor, etc.

If the foldable display device 11 is gripped by the user in thelandscape mode, the user may grip the first area 31. Accordingly, thefoldable display device 11 may deactivate the touch sensor of the firstarea 31 corresponding to a short side of the foldable display device inthe landscape mode. That is, the foldable display device 11 maydeactivate the touch sensors of two sides each having a shorter lengthamong four sides thereof. The foldable display device detects an areagripped by the user and adaptively sets the width of the first area 31.The foldable display device may change the width of the first area 31 inproportion to the width of the area gripped by the user.

The touch sensors of the second area 32 which is the folding area andthe third area 33 which is the inner area may be activated to detectuser touch input. In the upper side of FIG. 3, the touch sensor of theborder area corresponding to the long side of the foldable displaydevice may be activated as compared to FIG. 2. Accordingly, the foldabledisplay device may detect user touch input in an area wider than that ofFIG. 2.

The lower side of FIG. 3 shows areas if the foldable display mode 11 inan unfolded state is in a portrait mode. The foldable display device 11may recognize that the foldable display device 11 is gripped by the userin the portrait mode using a gravity sensor, a gyroscope sensor, etc.

If the foldable display device 11 is gripped by the user in the portraitmode, the user may grip the first area 34. Accordingly, the foldabledisplay device 11 may deactivate the touch sensor of the first area 34corresponding to a long side among the border areas of the foldabledisplay device in the portrait mode. That is, the foldable displaydevice 11 may deactivate the touch sensors of two sides each having alonger length among four sides thereof. The foldable display devicedetects an area gripped by the user and adaptively sets the length ofthe first area 34. The foldable display device may change the length ofthe first area 34 in proportion to the width of the area gripped by theuser.

The touch sensors of the second area 35 which is the folding area andthe third area 36 which is the inner area may be activated to detectuser touch input. In the lower side of FIG. 3, the touch sensor of theborder area corresponding to the short side of the foldable displaydevice in the portrait mode may be activated as compared to FIG. 2.Accordingly, the foldable display device may detect user touch inputover a wider area than that of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a folded state of a foldable display deviceaccording to an embodiment of the present specification. According toembodiments, the foldable display device 11 may have a touch sensitivedisplay unit at a front side thereof. The foldable display device 11 maynot include a bezel. As shown in FIG. 4, if the foldable display deviceis in the folded state, touch sensitive display units may be provided onthe front side and the rear side thereof.

The foldable display device 11 may deactivate the touch sensors of thefirst area 41 and the second area 42 in the folded state. Deactivatingthe touch sensor may mean that touch input is ignored or the touchsensor is powered off. According to embodiments, the touch sensor of thefirst area 41 may be deactivated at the hardware level. According toembodiments, a foldable display device without a touch sensor of a firstarea 41 may be designed. In FIG. 4, in the foldable display device 11 ofthe folded state, the first area 41 and the second area 42 are borderareas. Accordingly, the foldable display device 11 may deactivate thetouch sensors of the first area 41 and the second area 42 belonging tothe border areas to minimize malfunction due to unintentional inputthrough gripping. In addition, the foldable display device 11 maydeactivate the touch sensors of the first area 41 and the second area 42located on the back side in the folded state according to embodiments.

The foldable display device 11 may adaptively change the width 44 of thefirst area and the width 45 of the second area according to the state orsize of the foldable display device 11. For example, the foldabledisplay device 11 may set the width 44 of the first area and the width45 of the second area in proportion to the size thereof. The foldabledisplay device 11 may set the width 44 of the first area and the width45 of the second area in the folded state to be narrower than the width44 of the first area and the width 45 of the second area in the unfoldedstate. This is because, as the size of the foldable display device isincreased, more stable grip is required and thus the user must grip awider area. The foldable display device 11 may set a border area havinga first width in the unfolded state and set a border area having asecond width in the folded state. The first width may be equal to orgreater than the second width. Therefore, the foldable display devicemay increase the touch sensitive area reduced due to the folded state bythe reduced border area.

The foldable display device 11 may activate the touch sensor of thethird area 43, which is the inner area, to detect user touch input. Inaddition, the foldable display device 11 may deactivate the touch sensorof the third area located on the back side in the folded state accordingto embodiments. That is, the touch sensor of an area which does not comewithin the field of vision of the user in the third area 23, in whichthe touch sensor is activated, may be deactivated.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a method of determining the state of afoldable display device according to a folding angle of the foldabledisplay device according to an embodiment of the present specification.According to embodiments, the foldable display device 11 may have atouch sensitive display unit at a front side thereof. The foldabledisplay device 11 may not include a bezel.

The foldable display device 11 may sense the folding angle 51 of thefoldable display device as shown in the left upper side of FIG. 5. Thefolding angle may be defined as an inner angle of the foldable displayunit. The foldable display device 11 may determine the state of thefoldable display device using the sensed folding angle 51. The foldabledisplay device 11 may use an illumination sensor or a distance sensor tosense the folding angle 51. The illumination sensor may sense thefolding angle according to sensed brightness and the distance sensor maysense the folding angle by measuring a distance between both sides ofthe display unit of the foldable display device in the folded state.Alternatively, the foldable display device 11 may sense the foldingangle using a hinge sensor or a magnetic sensor.

The foldable display device 11 may detect that the foldable displaydevice 11 is in the folded state if the folding angle 51 is equal to orless than a first angle as shown in the left upper side of FIG. 5. Inaddition, the foldable display device 11 may detect that the foldabledisplay device 11 is in the unfolded state if the folding angle 51 isgreater than the first angle as shown in the lower side of FIG. 5.

As another embodiment, the foldable display device 11 may be set to thefolded state if the folding angle 51 is less than a second angle. Inaddition, the foldable display device 11 may be set to the unfoldedstate if the folding angle 51 is greater than a third angle. If thefoldable display device 11 is changed from the unfolded state to thefolded state, the touch sensor of the second area 52 which is thefolding area may be deactivated when the folding angle 51 is a fourthangle. The fourth angle has a value equal to or greater than the secondangle and equal to or less than the third angle and an angle range fromthe second angle to the fourth angle may be set to be less than an anglerange from the fourth angle to the third angle. That is, if the foldabledisplay device 11 is in an intermediate state between the folded stateand the unfolded state as shown in the right upper side of FIG. 5, thefoldable display device 11 may maintain the touch sensor unit of thesecond area 52 in the activated state until the foldable display devicereaches the folded state.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a method of changing the position of contentand a control button in correspondence with rotation of a foldabledisplay device according to an embodiment of the present specification.According to embodiments, the foldable display device 11 may have atouch sensitive display unit at a front side thereof. The foldabledisplay device 11 may not include a bezel. As shown in FIG. 6, if thefoldable display device is in the folded state, touch sensitive displayunits may be provided on front and back sides thereof.

In the left upper side of FIG. 6, the foldable display device 11 maydisplay an object 61 and a control button 62 in a third area 43, inwhich the touch sensor is activated. The user may control the object andthe control button using touch input if the object 61 and the controlbutton 62 are present in the third area 43.

If the foldable display device 11 rotates as shown in the right upperside of FIG. 6, the foldable display device 11 may rotate the object 61and the control button 62. The foldable display device 11 may sense therotation angle of the foldable display device 11 and rotate and displaythe object 61 and the control button 62 in correspondence with thesensed rotation angle.

If the foldable display device 11 rotates the displayed object 61 andcontrol button 62, some of the object 61 or the control button 62 may bedisplayed in an area, in which the touch sensor is deactivated. Forexample, the control button 62 displayed in the third area 43 in theleft upper side of FIG. 6 may be displayed in the second area 42 byrotation as shown in the right upper side of FIG. 6. Since the touchsensor is deactivated in the second area 42 of the foldable displaydevice 11 in the folded state, the user may not perform touch inputusing the control button 62 displayed in the second area 42.

Accordingly, the foldable display device 11 may rotate the displayedcontent on a per area basis. That is, in rotation of the displayedobject 61 or control button 62 due to rotation of the foldable displaydevice, the foldable display device 11 of the present specificationrotates the object 61 or the control button 62 on a per area basis,thereby ensuring touch continuity.

As shown in the lower side of FIG. 6, the foldable display device 11 maysense the rotation angle of the foldable display device and rotate theobject 61 or the control button 62 displayed in at least one area of thefoldable display unit on a per area basis in correspondence with thesensed rotation angle. If the object 61 or the control button 62 islocated in an area in which the touch sensor is deactivated by rotation,the foldable display device 11 may move and display the control button62 in an area in which the touch sensor is activated.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing exceptions of a touch sensitive area of afoldable display device according to an embodiment of the presentspecification. According to embodiments, the foldable display device 11may have a touch sensitive display unit at a front side thereof. Thefoldable display device 11 may not include a bezel.

The foldable display device 11 may deactivate the touch sensor of thefirst area 21 in the unfolded state. The foldable display device 11 maydetect touch input if touch input detected in the second area 22 or thethird area 23 in which the touch sensor is activated is moved into thefirst area 21 while maintaining contact with the foldable displaydevice. The foldable display device 11 may activate the touch sensor ofsome of the first area 21 based on a path along which touch input ismoved from the second area 22 or the third area 23.

That is, as shown in the upper side of FIG. 7, the foldable displaydevice 11 in the unfolded state may detect first touch input 71 in thethird area 23. First touch input 71 may be moved to the right whilemaintaining contact with the foldable display device. If first touchinput 71 enters the first area 21 of the foldable display device, thefoldable display device 11 may activate the touch sensor of some of thefirst area 21. For example, the foldable display device 11 may trackmovement of first touch input from the third area 23 to the first area21 and activate the touch sensor of some areas included in the traveldirection of first touch input 71 in the first area 21. The foldabledisplay device 11 may temporarily activate the touch sensor of the firstarea 21 and, if first touch input 71 is released from the foldabledisplay device, the activated touch sensor of some of the first area maybe deactivated again. That is, the foldable display device 11 mayactivate the first area 21 only while control input moved from the thirdarea 23 into the first area 21 is detected while maintaining contactwith the foldable display device.

The foldable display device 11 may deactivate the touch sensors of thefirst area 21 and the second area 22 in the folded state. The foldabledisplay device 11 may detect touch input if touch input detected in thethird area 23 in which the touch sensor is activated is moved into thefirst area 21 or the second area 22 while maintaining contact with thefoldable display device. The foldable display device 11 may activate thetouch sensor of some of the first area 21 or the second area 22 based ona dragging path from the third area 23.

That is, as shown in the lower side of FIG. 7, the foldable displaydevice 11 in the folded state may detect second touch input 72 in thethird area 43. Second touch input 72 may be moved to the right whilemaintaining contact with the foldable display device. If second touchinput 72 enters the second area 42, in which the touch sensor isdeactivated, due to folding, the foldable display device 11 may activatethe touch sensor of some of the second area 42. For example, thefoldable display device 11 may track movement of second touch input 72from the third area 43 to the second area 42 and activate the touchsensor of some area included in the travel direction of second touchinput 72 in the second area 42. The foldable display device 11 maytemporarily activate the touch sensor of the second area 42 and, ifsecond touch input 72 is released from the foldable display device, thetouch sensor of some of the second area 42 may be deactivated again.

As described above, the foldable display device 11 may adaptively setthe touch sensitive area and accurately reflect user touch intentionaccording to exceptions.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a foldable display device according to anembodiment of the present specification. The display device may includea foldable display unit 101, a sensor unit 102 and a controller 103.

The foldable display unit 101 may display an object and a controlbutton. The foldable display unit 101 may be folded or bent in half withrespect to the folding center axis. The foldable display unit 101 may beasymmetrically folded with respect to an arbitrary axis instead of thecenter axis. In addition, the foldable display device may include two ormore folding areas. For example, the foldable display device having twofolding center axes may be folded to a size of ⅓ of the total sizethereof by dividing a foldable display unit into three areas. Thefoldable display unit 101 may include at least one of an organiclight-emitting diode (OLED), a liquid crystal display (LCD), anelectronic ink and flexible display, etc. according to embodiments.

The sensor unit 102 may sense the state of the foldable display device.The sensor unit 102 may measure an inner angle between both sides of thefoldable display unit to sense the folded state or the unfolded state.As another embodiment, the sensor unit 102 may determine the state ofthe foldable display device using a distance between both sides of thedisplay unit of the foldable display device in the folded state or basedon the operation state of a hinge. The sensor unit 102 may sendinformation about the state of the device to the controller 103.

The sensor unit 102 may sense touch input to the foldable displaydevice. The sensor unit 102 may sense user touch input using a resistiveor capacitive touch sensor. The touch sensor of each area may beactivated or deactivated by the controller 103. The sensor unit may sendinformation about sensed touch input to the controller.

The sensor unit 102 may sense a tilt angle or rotation angle of thefoldable display device. The sensor unit 102 may use at least one of agravity sensor, a tilt sensor and a gyroscope sensor to sense the tiltangle or the rotation angle. The sensor unit may send information aboutthe tile angle or the rotation angle to the controller 103. The sensorunit 102 may determine whether the foldable display device is in aportrait mode or a landscape mode using at least one of a gravitysensor, a tilt sensor and a gyroscope sensor.

The touch sensors of the foldable display unit 101 and the sensor unit102 may be integrated to form a touch sensitive display unit accordingto embodiments.

The controller 103 may control the sensor unit 102 and the display unit103 using information received from the sensor unit 102. The controller103 may detect the state of the foldable display device using the sensorunit 102. The controller 103 may detect whether the foldable displaydevice is in the folded state or the unfolded state. The determinationas to whether the foldable display device is in the folded state or theunfolded state may be made based on information about the state of thedevice received from the sensor unit. The controller may activate ordeactivate the touch sensor unit on a per area basis according to thedetected state of the foldable display device as described withreference to FIGS. 2 to 6.

The controller 103 may receive information about sensed touch input fromthe sensor unit 102. The controller 103 may determine whether operationcorresponding to touch input is performed depending on in which areatouch input is sensed. If touch input is sensed in an area in which thetouch sensor is deactivated by the controller, the controller may ignoreand bypass the touch input. In addition, if touch input is sensed in anarea in which the touch sensor is activated by the controller, thecontroller may perform operation corresponding to the touch input.

The controller 103 may receive information about the sensed tilt angleor rotation angle from the sensor unit 102. The controller may rotateand display the object and the control button displayed on the foldabledisplay unit 101 based on the received information. The controller mayrotate the object and the control button on a per area basis. Therefore,it is possible to prevent the object or the control button from beingmoved into an area in which the touch sensor is deactivated by rotation.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram according to an embodiment, in which blocksrepresent logically divided elements of the foldable display device.Accordingly, the elements of the foldable display device may be mountedas one chip or a plurality of chips according to design of the foldabledisplay device.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling a foldabledisplay device according to an embodiment of the present specification.The foldable display device may set a first area which is a border areaof a foldable display unit, a second area which is a folding area and athird area which is located in an inner area between the first area andthe second area (S 10). As described with reference to FIG. 2, thefoldable display device may set a border which may be gripped by a useras the first area. The foldable display device may set left and rightareas of the folding center axis as the second area which is the foldingarea. In addition, the foldable display device may set the inner area ofthe foldable display unit surrounded by the first area and the secondarea as the third area. The first area may be gripped by the user in theunfolded state. The second area may be gripped by the user in the foldedstate.

As described with reference to FIG. 3, the foldable display device maydifferently set the first area, second area and third area of thefoldable display unit according to the portrait mode and the landscapemode.

The foldable display device may detect the state of the foldable displayunit (S230). The state of the foldable display unit may include a firststate which corresponds to the folded state or a second state whichcorresponds to the unfolded state. As described with reference to FIG.8, the foldable display device may detect the state of the foldabledisplay unit using the sensor unit. The foldable display device maymeasure the inner angle between both sides of the foldable display unitusing the sensor unit to detect whether the foldable display device isin the folded state or the unfolded state. As another embodiment, thefoldable display device may determine the state of the foldable displayunit based on the operation state of a hinge located in the folding areaor by sensing a distance between both sides of the folded display unit.

The foldable display device may determine that the state of the foldabledisplay unit corresponds to the first state which is the folded state(S30). If the foldable display unit is in the first state, the touchsensor units of the first area and the second area are deactivated (S40)and the touch sensor unit of the third area may be activated (S50). Thefoldable display device may determine the state based on informationabout the state of the foldable display unit sent from the sensor unitto the controller. As described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, thefirst area and second area of the foldable display device may be grippedby the user in the first state which corresponds to the folded state.Accordingly, the foldable display device may deactivate the touch sensorunits of the first area and the second area in order to preventunintentional input due to gripping. The foldable display deviceinterrupts supply of power to the touch sensor unit or ignores touchinput from a deactivated area.

The foldable display device may activate the touch sensor unit of thethird area to detect user touch input. That is, the foldable displaydevice may detect user touch input from the area of the foldable displayunit excluding the first and second areas.

The foldable display device may determine that the foldable display unitis in the second state which is the unfolded state (S30). If thefoldable display unit is in the second state, the touch sensor unit ofthe first area may be deactivated (S60) and the touch sensor units ofthe second area and the third area may be activated (S70). The foldabledisplay device may determine the state based on information about thestate of the foldable display unit sent from the sensor unit to thecontroller. As described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3, the first areaof the foldable display device may be gripped by the user in the secondstate which is the unfolded state. Accordingly, the foldable displaydevice may deactivate the touch sensor unit of the first area in orderto prevent malfunction due to a grip. The foldable display deviceinterrupts supply of power to the touch sensor unit or ignores touchinput from a deactivated area.

The foldable display device may activate the touch sensor units of thesecond area and the third area to detect user touch input. That is, thefoldable display device may detect user touch input from the area of thefoldable display unit excluding the first area. Therefore, the user mayperform touch input in the areas of the foldable display unit excludingthe border area.

As described above, the foldable display device of the presentspecification may adaptively change the touch sensitive area accordingto the state thereof to prevent malfunction due to unintended user touchinput.

According to the present specification, a foldable display device mayselectively activate a touch sensitive area according to a folded state.

According to the present specification, a foldable display device maydeactivate a touch sensor unit of a border area to prevent malfunction.

According to the present specification, a foldable display device mayrotate an object on a per area basis according to a rotation angle.

According to the present specification, a foldable display device maydifferently set a border area according to a folded state.

According to the present specification, a foldable display device mayactivate or deactivate a touch sensitive unit of a folding areaaccording to a folding angle.

According to the present specification, a foldable display devicetemporarily activates a touch sensor of a deactivated area if controlinput is moved from an area in which a touch sensor unit is activatedand an area in which a touch sensor unit is deactivated.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and variations can be made in the present specificationwithout departing from the spirit or scope of the inventions. Thus, itis intended that the present specification covers the modifications andvariations of this invention provided they come within the scope of theappended claims and their equivalents.

1. A foldable display device comprising: a foldable display unit beingin a folded state when the foldable display device is folded and beingin an unfolded state when the foldable display device is unfolded, thefoldable display unit being divided into a first area which is a borderarea, a second area which is a folding area and a third area locatedbetween the first area and the second area; touch sensor units of thefirst area, the second area and the third area configured to detectcontrol input for the display unit; and a controller configured tocontrol the display unit and the touch sensor units, wherein thecontroller is further configured to: detect the state of the foldabledisplay unit, and deactivate the touch sensor unit of the first area andactivates the touch sensor units of the second area and the third area,when the foldable display unit is gripped in the unfolded state.
 2. Thefoldable display device according to claim 1, wherein the foldabledisplay unit in the folded state is located on front and back sides ofthe foldable display device.
 3. The foldable display device according toclaim 1, wherein the foldable display unit in the unfolded state islocated on a front side of the foldable display device.
 4. The foldabledisplay device according to claim 1, wherein, if the touch sensor unitof the first area is deactivated, the controller is further configuredto ignore the control input when the control input for the first area isdetected.
 5. The foldable display device according to claim 1, wherein,if the touch sensor unit of the first area is deactivated, thecontroller is further configured to: detect touch input for the firstarea and a user grip, bypass the touch input when the touch input isdetected, and perform a function corresponding to the user grip when theuser grip is detected.
 6. The foldable display device according to claim1, wherein, if the touch sensor unit of the first area is deactivated,the controller is further configured to interrupt power supply to thetouch sensor unit of the first area.
 7. The foldable display deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein: the inner angle of the foldable displayunit in the folded state is less than a first angle, and the inner angleof the foldable display unit in the unfolded state is greater than asecond angle.
 8. The foldable display device according to claim 7,wherein, if the state of the foldable display unit is changed from theunfolded state to the folded state, the controller is further configuredto deactivate the touch sensor unit of the second area when the innerangle of the foldable display unit is less than a third angle.
 9. Thefoldable display device according to claim 8, wherein the third anglehas a value equal to or greater than the first angle and equal to orless than the second angle and an angle range from the first angle tothe third angle is less than an angle range from the third angle to thesecond angle.
 10. (canceled)
 11. (canceled)
 12. The foldable displaydevice according to claim 1, wherein the controller is furtherconfigured to: detect the control input in the third area, and activatethe deactivated touch sensor unit of the first area when the controlinput is moved from the third area to the first area while contact ofthe control input with the foldable display unit is maintained.
 13. Thefoldable display device according to claim 1, wherein the controller isfurther configured to: detect the control input in the third area, andactivate the deactivated touch sensor unit of the second area when thecontrol input is moved from the third area to the second area in whichthe touch sensor unit is deactivated in the folded state while contactof the control input with the foldable display unit is maintained. 14.(canceled)
 15. (canceled)
 16. The foldable display device according toclaim 1, wherein, if the foldable display unit is in the folded state,the touch sensor unit of the first area or the second area is activatedwhen the control input detected in the third area is moved to the firstarea or the second area.
 17. The foldable display device according toclaim 1, wherein, if the foldable display unit is in the unfolded state,the touch sensor unit of the first area is activated when the controlinput detected in the second area or the third area is moved to thefirst area.
 18. (canceled)
 19. The foldable display device according toclaim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to set the sizesof the first area and the second area in correspondence with the size ofthe foldable display unit.
 20. The foldable display device according toclaim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to set the sizesof the first area and the second area in the folded state to be lessthan the sizes of the first area and the second area in the unfoldedstate.
 21. A method for controlling a foldable display device, themethod comprising: detecting a state of a foldable display unit, thefoldable display unit being in a folded state when the foldable displaydevice is folded and being in an unfolded state when the foldabledisplay device is unfolded, the foldable display unit being divided intoa first area which is a border area, a second area which is a foldingarea and a third area located between the first area and the secondarea; and deactivating a touch sensor unit of the first area andactivating touch sensor units of the second area and the third area,when the foldable display unit is gripped in the unfolded state.
 22. Themethod according to claim 21, wherein the foldable display unit in thefolded state is located on front and back sides of the foldable displaydevice.
 23. The method according to claim 21, wherein the foldabledisplay unit in the unfolded state is located on a front side of thefoldable display device.
 24. The method according to claim 21, furthercomprising: ignoring the control input detected in the first area whenthe touch sensor unit of the first area is deactivated.
 25. The methodaccording to claim 21, further comprising: when the touch sensor unit ofthe first area is deactivated, detecting touch input for the first areaand a user grip, bypassing the touch input when the touch input isdetected, and performing a function corresponding to the user grip whenthe user grip is detected.
 26. The method according to claim 21, furthercomprising: when the touch sensor unit of the first area is deactivated,interrupting power supply to the touch sensor unit of the first area.27. The method according to claim 21, wherein: the inner angle of thefoldable display unit in the folded state is less than a first angle,and the inner angle of the foldable display unit in the unfolded stateis greater than a second angle.
 28. The method according to claim 27,further comprising: when the state of the foldable display unit ischanged from the unfolded state to the folded state, deactivating thetouch sensor unit of the second area when the inner angle of thefoldable display unit is less than a third angle.
 29. The methodaccording to claim 28, wherein the third angle has a value equal to orgreater than the first angle and equal to or less than the second angleand an angle range from the first angle to the third angle is less thanan angle range from the third angle to the second angle.
 30. The methodaccording to claim 21, further comprising: detecting the control inputin the third area, and activating the deactivated touch sensor unit ofthe first area when the control input is moved from the third area tothe first area while contact of the control input with the foldabledisplay unit is maintained.
 31. The method according to claim 21,further comprising: detecting the control input in the third area, andactivating the deactivated touch sensor unit of the second area when thecontrol input is moved from the third area to the second area in whichthe touch sensor unit is deactivated in the folded state while contactof the control input with the foldable display unit is maintained. 32.The method according to claim 21, wherein, if the foldable display unitis in the folded state, the touch sensor unit of the first area or thesecond area is activated when the control input detected in the thirdarea is moved to the first area or the second area.
 33. The methodaccording to claim 21, wherein, if the foldable display unit is in theunfolded state, the touch sensor unit of the first area is activatedwhen the control input detected in the second area or the third area ismoved to the first area.
 34. The method according to claim 21, furthercomprising: setting the sizes of the first area and the second area incorrespondence with the size of the foldable display unit.
 35. Themethod according to claim 21, further comprising: setting the sizes ofthe first area and the second area in the folded state to be less thanthe sizes of the first area and the second area in the unfolded state.